Rigid airship



July 3, 1928.

A. RYAN RIGID AIRSHIP Filed Sept. 15, 1927 fly Patented July 3, 1928.

\UNITEDQSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED RYAN, OF ANNIESLAND, GLASGOW, SCOTLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE IOCO RUB- BER 8: WATERPROOFING COMPANY, LIMITED, 0]? GLASGOW, SCOTLAND, A BRITISH COMPANY.

RIGID AIRSI-IIP.

AppIicatiori filed September 15, 1927, Serial No. 219,716, and in Great Britain September 17, 1926.

This invention relates to rigid airships.

At the present time the outer-cover or on velope of an airship is constructcd of large sheets or panels and is usually maintained taut by the combined use of dope and a system of closely pitched lacing. This method does not provide satisfactory meansuof con-.

trolling the initial tautness of the cover and proves inconvenient when littingor remov- .ing any portion of the cover. When it 1s desired to obtain access to the interior of the airship it is necessary to undo the lacing so as to loosen or remove one or more panels of the outer cover. The effect of removing a panel, in cases where the usual system of lacing is adopted, produces sagging of the various panels contiguous to the panel which has been removed, andthe object of the pres ent invention is to enable the outer cover to be constructed in convenient sections that can be easily fitted or removed without interfering with the main body of the cover. Other objects are to provide a ready means of applying the initial tautness to the main body of each section and to apply the main loads, due to the tautness of the, cover at those points, to the framework where the loads can readily be estimated by calculation.

According to the present invention the sheets or panels of the outer cover are subdivided into comparatively small and approximately rectangular scctions and four or more catenaries are provided which are sewn or otherwise attached to each section or panel towards each edge thereof, the ends of the catenaries being attached through the intermcdiary of turnbuckles or their equivalent, to the rigid framework of the airship preferably at the points where the longitudinal girders are intersected by the transverse frame members. Any desired degree of tautness can initially be imparted to the sec tion or panel by means of the turnbuckles or their equivalent attached to the catenaries and thereafter the edges of each panel or section are laced or otherwise attached to the edges of contiguous sections.

In order that the said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into ell'ect the same will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawing, which shows diagramn'iatically at Figure 1 a section or panel constructed according to one embodiment of the present invention, and V Figure 2 is a detail on an enlarged scale showing one corner of the said panel.

A is one of the approximately rectangular sections or panels forming part of the outer cover of a rigid airship of polygonal cross section the section being of such a, size that it corresponds approximately to the space which is formed between the pointsof intersection of two contiguous longitudinal girders and two contiguous transverse frame members. B, 15, are four catenaries which, in the example shown, are constituted by arope of hemp or wire attached to the outer edge of the inner portion A of the section. the outer portiouA of the section being at tached to the inner portion A by lacing or stitching A The rope B is formed into loops B, B towards each corner of the section andby means of ropes C, C, each provided with a turnbuckle C the section is attached to the framework of the airship at the points where the longitudinal girders and transverse frame members intersect one another. By means of the turnbuckles C any desired degree of tautness can initially be llTlPZll'llGCltO the section A and thereafter the edges of section A are attached by lacing or otherwise at the points A A to the edges of contiguous panels.

Qwing to this arrangement and when it is desired to obtain access to the interior of the jairship, the lacing of the section. which it is desired to remove is loosened at the points A, A and thereafter the section is disconnected from the framework of the airship by unscrewing the turnbuckles C, C. The eIitire section can then be removed. Owing to the provision of the catenaries B, B and the turnbuckles G, C which maintain each section separately under tension the removal of a section or sections, does not produce any sagging of contiguous sections. The present arrangement also reduces flapping by placing each section of the outer cover under tension. Furthermore, the use of catenaries" enables the operation of doping the outer cover to be completed mainly or entirely prior to the section being placed in position on the airship.

In the example shown the section A is fitted with four tensioning members or catenaries but further members may be fitted in a similar manner, of example, four additional members having a different curvature may be fitted as shown in dotted lines at Figure 1.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A method of attaching the outer cover to a rigid airship which consists in constructing the outer cover in comparatively small and approximatelyrectangular sections or panels, each section or panel being provided with tour or more catenaries which are attached thereto towards each edge thereof and the ends of "the catenaries being connected to the framework of the airship, preferably at the points where the longitudinal girders are intersected by the transverse frame members, through the intermediary 0t 0 turnbuckles or their equivalent.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the edges of each panel or section are laced or otherwise attached to the ed es of contiguous sections after any desired degree of lIlltltll tautne has been imparted to the section or panel by means of the turnbuckles or their equivalent. 7

3. An airship provided with an outer cover which is constructed in rectangular sections and in which each section has four or more catenaries whose ends are attached to the rigid fromework of the airship through the intermediary or turnbuckles or their equivalent.

4. A detachable section for the outer cover of an airship provided with catenaries towards each edge thereof and with turnbuckles or other tautening devices for at taching the catenaries to the framework of the airship.

A. RYAN. 

